Judd Mercer
Denver, CO
I paint, illustrate and write fiction. Oil, gouache, and digital. Lots of plein air and landscapes along with illustrative/concept work.
Activity Feed
Judd Mercer
•
3yr
added comment inEnvironment Storytelling with Dom Lay (LIVESTREAM)
Hey Dom! I have your Journey to the East book. Can you talk about the process for that? When did you feel like you were "good enough" to tackle a world building project?
Judd Mercer
•
3yr
Page from my plein air sketchbook (gouache). This was from a recent trip to Arizona.
Judd Mercer
•
4yr
Hey Lukas, I took this course with CGMA https://www.cgmasteracademy.com/courses/115-key-frame-illustration-for-production/ that was heavily blender and paint over-focused. It was intense! I would also suggest tutorials by Jama Jurabaev, he does a lot with Blender https://gumroad.com/jamajurabaev?query=blender&sort=newest
Ye, looks very good, but Im currently on tight budget, so I will stick to free content for now :D but thanks for replying
Hey Flynn! Great job, I really like the proportions and the gesture of the study.
The first thing that stands out to me (not drapery) is it feels like she's floating on that chair. Right now, it feels a bit like she's floating. I feel like it placing her in that chair a bit more would ground her in the scene and in turn give you a better idea of how the drapery might be flowing.
For the drapery to me right now, it feels more like a good study of what you were seeing, rather than an interpretation of what you were drawing. What I would say is try and think of the fabric as something wrapping around the form. @David Finch has a great video on his Youtube channel about drawing clothes I'd highly recommend.
I second this! When all the strokes travel down the leg in the same direction it can get a little boring and flat. Varying strokes across the form can help to sort of hint at cross contour. Greg Manchess does this in an amazing way.
Asked for help
This is my first attempt at the figures from the videos. I find the knees most confusing and the constructions lines get lost in areas with overlapping forms. Any comments or suggestions on what I should pay more attention to?
What helps me with knees is thinking about how the hard blocky shape emerges from underneath all the soft muscle folds versus an "end cap". It's easier to see with people who are super jacked, but the principle applies to everyone.
Judd Mercer
•
4yr
A recent digital piece experimenting with some @Dom Lay techniques of grayscale underpainting with color layers on top.
Judd Mercer
•
4yr
Hey Jo! As a beginner, I would keep things simple. Gamsol, paint, cheap canvas along with student-grade synthetic brushes. No mediums or mixers needed. I'd buy rolled canvas if you can and cut small sizes to work on, taped to board or angled drawing table (something you can step back and look at). For learning, you really don't need canvas stretched, in my opinion, and you can always do that later. Plus it stores flat.
I would also highly recommend painting small and trying Gamblin "Fast Matte" White. It will dry when mixed in 24 hours so you can't ruin pieces by overworking them. Plus it lets you layer on top. Finish a piece, move on, repeat. Just clean your brushes and palette when you are done. And don't be cheap with your paints! Squeeze generous globs out and use Gamsol to thin as needed.
And as others have said, things can get fumey so work in a place with a window and wear gloves. Gamsol can be reused over and over so just dump the dirty stuff in another container, let the paint settle, then pour when clear into a new container.
Again, my biggest suggestion would keep it as simple as you can in order to just paint! Mediums and all that can come later once you know what you are after (slower, faster, thinner, etc.)
